How many rock bands can you name from Ukraine? After reading this article, you should be able to name at least one.
Star Crystal was formed in 2012 by their front woman Susanna Radimovskaya, who along with Alex Nasirov (guitar), Elijah Dubchak (keyboards), and Eugene Toderash (bass) has made up the core of the band ever since. I recently sat down for a virtual chat with Susanna and Eugene to learn more about them.
There has been a bit of a revival for music from the 1980s in recent years, with bands like The Night Flight Orchestra and several others embracing the melodic hard rock/metal style of that decade totally, going a long way towards making it fashionable again. Star Crystal fits very nicely in with that, as the melodic hard rock that they play are more or less open love letters to the decade, performed competently with strong musicianship and powerful female vocals.
When they are asked to describe their own music, Eugene says “we play glam metal and heavy metal from the 1980s, inspired by bands like Bon Jovi, Whitesnake, Vixen, Mr Big, and Headpins. Actually most of those type of bands from the 1980s are our favourites, and we’re playing a similar type of music here in Ukraine.”
The band found each other through their common interest in the style of music that inspires them, and quickly became a tightly knit unit. “We’re a music family,” they both say almost at the same time, underlining their own words. “Not in the sense that we’re brothers and sister, but we share the same passion for the music and are very close. We have been together for a long time and care about each other, we help each other, we act like one. The feeling of family is very strong between us.”
The band hail from Chernivtsi, a city in western Ukraine situated on the upper course of the Prut River. It is viewed as one of the main cultural centres of the region. This made it interesting for me to ask them what the music scene in their home town/country is like, and the answer was surprising.
“The popular style of music in Ukraine is pop/rock,” says Susanna. “Very light pop/rock. If you do an internet search for ‘Ukraine’ and ‘band’ you will see several light pop/rock alternatives. There really is no scene for rock and metal music, although there are 2-3 rock bands playing worldwide.”
“We have Jinjer,” adds Eugene, ”which is probably one of the most popular Ukraine bands on a worldwide level. All the rock and metal bands need to have an international focus, because the audience for this type of music is quite limited in Ukraine. Our own main live market is Europe, because we don’t really have the audience here. We are more popular outside of our country than in it. Right now we don’t even play here.”
This is a rather unique situation, which raise the question on how it is possible for harder-edged rock bands to even get a start in Ukraine and manage to grow into something. “Well, we are used to hustling,” says Eugene. “Early on, we searched in Europe for places to play. We wanted to play our music wherever the music would have a chance – rock and metal emerged from UK, America, Germany… so we wanted to go to those places and play as well. For half of the year we searched – every night! – for more rock radio stations, TV, magazines, venues – just working on getting the word out, contacting them, asking for help with promotion, and also looking for places we could book shows.”
This mentality is largely what has kept the band going, and it was also what got them their record contract. Star Crystal are signed to the American label Rock Avenue Records, based in Los Angeles. How did that come about?
“We connected with them pretty much just like we connected with you and the Norselands site – by sending a message and presenting ourselves. We were looking around for opportunities, and found some labels online that we sent a message to. When we reached out to Rock Avenue, they responded back very positively. They liked us and made us an offer that we in return were very happy with. We travelled over to their country to meet and ended up signing a contract with them. We have been signed with them since, and it’s always been a great partnership. I think they found us interesting given where we are from, it does make us unique in a way.”
Star Crystal have released two albums through Rock Avenue Records: Follow Me (2017) and Revival of Glam (2019). They both have their trademark style, but the band’s ability to fully shape and embrace the style of music they want to be playing has gradually improved. “If you compare the first album to the second,” says Eugene, “we think we are more successful in embracing the style of the 1980s naturally. The music is also overall more powerful, and has more room for emotions. Our lyrics are definitely better. This is a development that will continue on the third album. Also, our look and the way we present ourselves is also more representative of the musical style we play.”
When it comes to lyrics and the topics they explore, Susanna makes it clear what they write about: “Love, girls, boys!” she laughs. “We usually write about love and relationships, in a 1980s way. We can also write about how it can be a struggle to reach your goals, and overcoming such obstacles.”
I had to ask them about the band name. When I saw the name Star Crystal, the first thing I thought of was the science fiction film from 1986 with that exact name. The movie is highly entertaining, but unintentionally so and a bit of a turkey (see the trailer here if you’re curious). Could this possibly be where they took the name from?
The guys smile long before I’ve finished the question, showing that they know what I’m talking about. “We had actually never heard of that film!” says Eugene. “We saw it at a point when we tried to search our band name in Google just to see what would show up. It was a surprise, but a funny one. I think right now we rank a bit higher in search positions than this movie, but… no, that has not influenced anything.”
The elephant in the room is the drummer situation. The band is always presented as a five-piece in pictures and videos, but they are currently down to four members – the same ones who has been there since the beginning. “We’ve had two drummers in the band’s history,” says Susanna. “They both chose to leave at various points, and we can only wish them well. But that means we are currently searching for a new band member. More than just looking for a drummer, we really want to find the fifth member of our family.”
There is a deadline involved, as the band have definite plans in the time ahead. “We have an autumn tour booked. The plan is to spend September and October touring Europe, with several shows especially in Germany. We want to go to Norway and Scandinavia, so we’re looking for someone willing to book us there. Before that, though, we’re looking to start recording our third album. We have five of the songs written and ready to record. We also have a new single out called Come On Baby, which we want to produce a new video for soon.”
Obviously all touring plans are dependent on how the situation with the pandemic keeps developing. The pandemic has obviously impacted Star Crystal like all bands. “We were hurt by the sudden stop to live concerts,” says Eugene. “We managed to do two online concerts, though. And we were lucky to play a show last fall in Bulgaria. The world in general was locked down, but Bulgaria was still relatively open, so we were able to play there at the Polinero Rock Fest.”
The Polinero show can be seen professionally recorded on YouTube. Although it was open to an audience, you can see that precautions were taken around distancing. Who knows if this is how the fall tour could go ahead – we’ll see!
Susanna and Eugene leave us with the following message: “Love each other, be safe, be healthy, and listen to metal – perhaps a bit of Star Crystal, if you like – and we will see you soon!”
People can check out the music and pick up albums through www.starcrystalband.com, which contains all necessary links. Their music can also be found on YouTube, Spotify, and other digital outlets.
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